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Designer of the Week - Oililla

This week get to know Rebecca
of Oililla. She currently lives in Southern Oregon with her husband and 4 boys!
"Ryan is 7 and has Fragile X Syndrome which mirrors Autism in many ways.
Nate is 5 and is our Drama King. Kai is 24 months and is our little dare devil. "

JM: When did you get started sewing and creating?

REBECCA: My Grandmother taught me basics for crochet and sewing.
I loved and admired my Grandmother very much and cherish everything she ever taught me.

So it is no secret I asked my mom to teach me to sew when I was 15 years old.
She handed me a yellow book with a big bright butterfly on it from the 60's or 70's.
I took one look at it and laughed at her. Like I was really going to take time to learn to sew by reading a stink'n book.
"I now wish I still had that book". I knew my mom would not make time to teach me since she gave me the book and I went to my Grandmother and asked her to teach me. I had a pattern in one hand and fabric in another.
My Grandmother sat down with me at her kitchen table and taught me how to cut the pattern out.
She told me to make sure not to cut off all the sizes and to fold the pattern in case you wanted to make a different size later, "my mom told me the same thing after my grandmother told me. I wonder who my mom learned it from?" LOL.
Then my Grandmother taught me how to lay the pattern on the fabric making sure the lines of the pattern went up and down with the grain of the fabric. She told me to pin down the pattern and then cut fabric.
Then we pined the pieces of the pattern together and headed to the sewing machine.

I picked up on how to sew quite quickly and I loved it from the start. A few years later I found myself in college.
I made many of my own clothes and begin to cut patterns apart to create new ones. Thus began my love for designing clothing even more. My biggest design I created was of course my Wedding Gown. It turned out wonderful and was simply stunning. After I finished my Wedding Gown I took a few years off from sewing while my husband was in the military. Once my husband got out of the military I began to sew again and to recapture my love for design.

I asked my Grandmother to teach me to crochet right after I got married. I stayed with my Grandmother while my husband was in Naval School. It was Dec. 1999 and I had just turned 23 years old. She taught me the basic stitch which was a chain. She told me to do it until every stitch was the same size. She would not teach me a new stitch until I had mastered it. I loved the fact that my Grandmother did not give me a book to learn with because now I have the wonderful memories and the time we spent together while I learned from her. These are the moments in my life which mean so much to me as I was very close to my Grandmother and I miss her dearly. My first crochet item I made was of course a crochet snowflake. Well it was winter after all there has to be snowflakes. LOL My Grandmother made me use worsted weight yarn for the snowflake so it turn out to be a coaster. She told me it was easier to learn to crochet with bigger yarn and she was right. I know she would be happy and proud to see me designing my own patterns today and in my heart I know she is looking down on me from heaven and smiling.

My Grandmother passed away about a month and half after she taught me to crochet.
I am so glad for the time we spent together.

JM: When did you start selling your designs on eBay?

REBECCA:I began to sell my crochet patterns on eBay in 2004 while my husband was still in the Navy. In Feb. 2005 I began to sell custom clothing on eBay and It has been a wonderful source of inspiration for my creativity. I sell on eBay, Etsy, & WinkElf.

JM: Do you remember the first outfit you sold on eBay?

REBECCA:
My first set I sold on eBay was a really cute V-Day Pants Set! It sold for about $35 if I remember correctly.

JM: How did come up with your name?

REBECCA: I wanted something different that I had not seen before and I wanted it to fun hip name that was nontraditional. Oi is for fun and Lilla means Lilac in Italian. I have family from Italy so I felt it was a fitting name. Oililla is pronounced like Oi-Lil-la

REBECCA:Right now I am trying to find the right fit for a group. Before I set down roots I want to make sure it is the right home for me as I plan to be around for a while. I know I will be a great asset to any group I end up calling home as I have lot bring to any group. I guess you could say that I am looking for a stable group that has been around eBay for a while and is firmly in place. I am currently guesting with a new group called MonJoli and they are a nice group of ladies.

JM: Do you have a favorite item to create?

REBECCA:I would have to say my favorite things to create are my crochet patterns. This past year I began to create the scarf patterns that I had been wanting to do since 2004 and finally made time to create them and it has been so much fun. The reason why I love to design my crochet items is simple. I get to curl up on my sofa and watch T.V. while I crochet. This is also the time where I come up with many other design ideas which is great.

I love to design my own patterns for sewing as well and have not used a store bought pattern in over a year now. I will take that back; the only time I use a store bought pattern is normally only when a customer requests something specific. Most of the time I love to create my own patterns though as it gives me so much joy to watch something I have envisioned become reality.

JM: If you could learn some new skills, what would they be?

REBECCA:
I would love to learn to knit. My mother knows how to knit and it has been the one thing I have yet to learn completely. I love to try everything that is creative at least once.

JM: If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

REBECCA: I would love to go to New Zealand. I do not know why but It just seems like it would be fun.

JM: What other things do you enjoy besides sewing?

REBECCA:I love spending time with my family and going on trips with them. During the summer we like to take out kids out doors a lot and these are the times that we cherish. Beach trips, Zoo trips, and Plain old Park trips. We love every minute we spend with our kids and enjoying every bit of life God gives to us each day.

JM: Anything else you would like to add?

REBECCA: Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about what makes me tick. :)

Do you have a question that you are dying to ask Rebecca? Comment about something she said or designed?
Post it here and she will answer it!